Žaliakalnis (literally, "the green hill") is an

elderate A ''seniūnija'' (in English: eldership, elderate, ward, parish, or subdistrict) is the smallest Subdivisions of Lithuania, administrative division of Lithuania. An eldership may comprise a very small region consisting of few villages, one ...

in Lithuania's second largest city, Kaunas. Žaliakalnis is located north of the old town and the city center area, between the

Neris The river Neris () or Viliya ( be, Ві́лія, pl, Wilia ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman), at Kaunas, as ...

and Girstupis valleys. It is one of the largest residential areas in Kaunas, with a population of 38,480 in 2006.

History

Žaliakalnis became part of Kaunas in 1919, when the city became the

temporary capital of Lithuania The temporary capital of Lithuania ( lt, Laikinoji sostinė) was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. It was in contrast to the declared capital in Vilnius, which was part of Poland from 1920 u ...

. Kaunas expanded rapidly and the need for a comprehensive plan became evident by 1922. The

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

engineer M. Frandsen was invited to devise this plan. In Frandsen's plan, Žaliakalnis was to be an important part of Kaunas, where all the city's administrative functions would be located. This part of the concept was not fulfilled, although the neighbourhood quickly became very popular and many modern residences were built. In 1924-1925 alone, more than 300 plots were created and sold. In accordance with the plan, its streets were planted with different species of trees, and space was left for gardens. By 1940, the area was largely built up, and only a few plots remained vacant.

Points of interest

Žaliakalnis is home to Ąžuolynas Park, containing a stand of centuries-old oak trees. It is the largest stand of urban oaks within Europe, covering 63

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s. A few sections of the park have been separated into Vytautas Park and Dainų slėnis. The only

Zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

in Lithuania is located across the road from Ąžuolynas. A large number of buildings of functionalism architecture, predominant in the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

, are still preserved in the elderate. Žaliakalnis was home for some well known Lithuanian writers and artists such as

Balys Sruoga Balys Sruoga (February 2, 1896, in , Kovno Governorate – October 16, 1947, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist. Early life He contributed to cultural journals from his early youth. His works were publis ...

, Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius,

Ieva Simonaitytė Ieva Simonaitytė or Ewa Simoneit (23 January 1897 – 27 August 1978) was a Lithuanian writer. She represented the culture of Lithuania Minor and Klaipėda Region, territories of German East Prussia with historically large, but dwindling, Lith ...

, Kazys Binkis,

Kipras Petrauskas Kipras Petrauskas (November 23, 1885 as Ciprijonas Petrauskas – January 17, 1968) was a Lithuanian operatic tenor (created around 80 roles), professor, and Lithuanian Association of Artists member. The national opera foundation is associated ...

, President

Valdas Adamkus Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; 3 November 1926) is a Lithuanian-American politician, diplomat and civil engineer. He served as the 5th and 7th President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009. Adamkus' ...

grew up here. Now Žaliakalnis is a popular upmarket residential area. Žaliakalnis contains a number of sports facilities and educational institutions: *

Kaunas University of Technology Kaunas University of Technology (abbreviated as KTU, ) is a public research university located in Kaunas, Lithuania. Established in 1922, KTU has been one of the top centers of Lithuanian science education. According to Lithuanian National Univ ...

campus * Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education *

Kaunas Sports Hall Kaunas Sports Hall ( lt, Kauno sporto halė), also known as the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Hall is the second largest arena of Kaunas, Lithuania. It is the first arena built in the residential Žaliakalnis neighbourhood of Kaunas specially for ...

* S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium * National Football Academy

References

City of Kaunas - Elderate of Žaliakalnis

External links

Website of Kaunas city
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaliakalnis Neighbourhoods of Kaunas